Barmah Choke trade balance and restriction

Barmah Choke trade

How much can I trade? 42831.3 ML*

*The balance shown is the volume of water permitted to be traded from above to below the Choke as of 02:19 am 26 May 2019. If the balance is negative, the capacity will be shown as zero opportunity to trade.

The balance is updated whenever the MDBA is consulted regarding a trade across the Choke. Trade applications should continue to be submitted to Basin states.

The Barmah Choke is a naturally occurring narrow stretch of the River Murray that begins downstream of Cobram, Victoria and ends upstream of Echuca, Victoria. The Choke runs through the Barmah–Millewa Forest on the Victorian/NSW border.

The Choke restricts the flow of the River Murray to just over 10,000 ML per day. This is the lowest flow in any stretch of the Murray. It presents a challenge for river management, primarily because it limits the delivery of irrigation water during periods of peak demand, generally in spring and summer.

A default trade restriction is in place at the Choke, this is necessary to protect water delivery to existing entitlement holders and for environmental reasons. The restriction means that trade downstream of the Choke may only occur when there is sufficient matching trade capacity available in the opposite direction which is called ‘back trade’. Factors that influence the restriction include water availability and allocations, and high demand due to climatic conditions. More information on these factors is available in the River Murray annual operating plan. The restriction is governed by Schedule D of the Murray–Darling Basin Agreement through the Permissible Transfers between Trading Zones (Permissible Transfers) Protocol. We are responsible for keeping track of the balance of trade when the restriction activity is in place.

Trade from above the Barmah Choke to below the Choke is restricted to protect delivery of water downstream. This means people upstream of the Choke can sell water to buyers downstream of the Choke, but only if the same or greater volume of water has been transferred from downstream to upstream of the Choke first. We will continue to monitor the situation and will lift or adjust the restriction if conditions permit.

Background

Consistent with normal operations, on July 1 2018 (at the start of the new water year), we cleared the balance available for trading from above to below the Choke. This annual adjustment took into account water savings transferred to the Snowy scheme, and resulted in an opening balance of around 32 GL. This was the initial volume available to be traded from above to below the Barmah Choke. More information on the opening balance was made publicly available on 27 June 2018.

Through the millennium drought, the trade restriction was relaxed and trade occurred freely from above to below the Barmah Choke. On Tuesday, 28 October 2014, trade from above the Barmah Choke reverted to the default position and the restriction was actively applied. We issued a water announcement advising the restriction was in place.